Community Helper - Sgt. M.b. Strigle

Sgt. M.B. Strigle became a Gloucester County sheriff's deputy more than four years ago because he wanted to help fight the crime he saw increasing in his hometown.

"I've lived in the county all my life," Strigle says. "When I went away to college in 1975, Gloucester was still kind of a sleepy little farm town. When I came back in '83, it didn't even look like the same place; it had grown so much. Then, reading the paper, it seemed that the crime rate had really increased. I wanted to help."

Strigle spent seven years at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in history. He also has state credentials to teach social studies at the high school level.

"I came back thinking I was going to be a teacher," he says. "Then I started riding with sheriff's deputies in a voluntary auxiliary program the county used to offer. Once I rode around and found out what was happening in the county, I was hooked on law enforcement."

Strigle started in August 1985 as a road deputy. In June 1986 he was promoted to investigations. After three years as a county investigator, Strigle was promoted to sergeant in November and put in charge of a team of deputies.

"I enjoyed investigations, and my goal is to return to that department as a supervisor some day," Strigle says. "But I wanted supervisory experience first, and this was the way to get it. I'm already learning a lot."

Strigle still lives on the farm he grew up on with his mother, Kathryn Strigle. His father, who was a farmer, is deceased. Strigle hasn't married yet. His colleagues say he won't take the time off to concentrate on romance. A look at his work schedule verifies those claims. He supervises between three and five deputies each day.

"I don't feel like I'm leading my team unless I'm out there doing what they do," he says. "I take crime reports, respond to complaints and work the traffic just like they do."

One recent bitter night, a woman appeared in the lobby of the sheriff's department claiming she hadn't had electricity, telephone or transportation at her house trailer for a year. She was worried because her kerosene heater had just broken and she had no money. She'd contacted the Social Services Department, and they said they couldn't help.

Strigle contacted a local pastor and found her temporary shelter. When commended for his efforts, the compassionate officer just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I didn't want to leave her in the lobby all night."